St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-03-09
A SOUTH CAROLINA STEAL.
HOW f. e. Wesley Was Knocked
Out Of n Million Dollars by Rail-

road scheme.
Special Correspondence of the Globe.
BISMARCK, March Tn the midst of
cloud of fragrant cigar smoke the other day,
Gen. Dennis, at present brigadier general
commanding the Dakota National Guard,
told me bit of South Carolina history that
will be of considerable interest to North
western readers, since the subject has been
brought forward through letter written by
S. j. Ahern, of st. Paul, to Mayor Court
ney, of Charleston, which was published
two weeks ago in the Fargo Sunday Argus
The story, as told me by the gen.
eral. took us back to the year
structing railroad from the upper part of
South Carolina across North Carolina.
through Tennessee and into Ohio. to be
known as the Blue Ridge railroad The
construction Of this road had been recon-
mended by Gen. jackson in good faith, and
he little knew az the time he was advocat-
ing it what an avalanche of censure and
derision it would bring down on the state
and her people. A special session of the
Legislature in the fall of 1868 voted 81, O00,-
900 of bonds as a guarantee for the Blue
Ridge railroad, and the contract
for its construction was let to
Alex Mcclure the famous editor
of the Philadelphia Times. New Yorker
by the name of Cresyell and John j. Pat
terSon, who once represented South Caro-
lima i'll the United States senate. A few
miles of the road was built when Mcclure
brought suit for damages for violation of
contract against the state and recovered
S75, 600, after which he stepped down and
out and forever severed his connection with
the Blue Ridge scheme.
In the winter of 1s71 Hiram Kimpton,
of New York, financial agent of the state,
came to the legislature with bill provid-
ing for the relief of the treasury, and when
asked for information regarding the pur-
pose for which the bill was drawn he
replied that as the time for collection of
taxes did not come until after the legislature
adjourned. money must be had for paying
the expenses of the state. This bill gave
the financial agent power to hypothecate
the balance of the $4,000, 900 of bonds after
Mcclure had been paid S75, 900. The legis-
lature at that time was ignorant of the true
state of affairs and didn't know that any
bonds had been issued but those that could be
properly negotiated. Kimpton applied to
f. B. Wesley, president of the Loan and
Trust company of New York and raised
two years later wanted his money and
il. company with other parties appeared be-
fore the legislative session of 1872 and
1878, and offered to release the whole
amount of bonds, taking in lieu thereof
script receivable in taxes to the amount of
81. 500, 900. This script has since been
known as the Blue Ridge script. At that
time Edwin F. Gary was state auditor.
but he was kept out of the steal that was
proposed, and in a revengefuI spirit re-
fused to levy taxes to meet the appropria-
lions made Scott was governor at the
time, and was in with the deal, conse-
quently when Gary refused to perform the
duties of his office he removed
him and appointed a successor
Gary was a little man and full
of grit, and Scott was & six-footer. Gary
refused to be removed, and one day Scott
walked into the auditors Office, took Gary
under one arm and carried linn out, while the
new appointee went IN and assumed charge
of the office. Gary's blood was up, and he
went before the supreme court and asked
an injunction restraining the auditor from
levying the tax. The injunction was
granted, and the hearing was made per-
that the issuance of the Blue Ridge
script was unconstitutional and it
was Of no value, because the constitution
provided that the debt of the state should
be represented in bonds. This ruling of
the court knocked Wesley out of nearly
81, 900, 600, and since that day the state has
made no effort to repay him, though he
gave the money in good faith and was in nc
way connected with the steal. When he
took the bonds he calculated that they were
worth the money he paid for them, and the
cold-blooded manner in which he was
robbed reflects anything but credit on the
| people of a state that but a few months
ago reached out her arms and pleaded fol
charity in behalf of suffering Charleston.
| The legislative sessions held under Repub-
| lican governors Moses and Chamberlain re.
fused to make Wesley good. consequently
the Democratic administration is not
wholly to be blamed for not meeting the
obligation. Wesley still has valid claim
against the state of S34., 200, and. as
| Northern capital is tending South and de-
| veloping the resources of that portion OF
the United States, the possibilities are thai
L. T.